


A Vanilla Secret

by ptw30



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: AU, But mostly fluff, Emperor Akashi, Fluff and Angst, KagaKuro - Freeform, M/M, Prince Tetsuya, kagakuroweek2015, perfumery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-06
Updated: 2015-10-06
Packaged: 2018-04-25 04:39:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,237
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4947052
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ptw30/pseuds/ptw30
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For KagaKuroWeek2015: An Absolute and son of an aromachologist, Taiga has journeyed far and wide helping his father treat others’ wayward aromas, and now at the Court of Teikou, Taiga finds himself infatuated with the prince who has no scent.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Vanilla Secret

**Author's Note:**

  * For [michabris (sinamour)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sinamour/gifts).



> I asked Sinamour for an AU prompt, and she requested a Kagakuro story with a perfumery. I’m sure this is not what she had in mind. Sorry, Sinamour!

Taiga hated being an Absolute. In a world that deemed scents and fragrances and aromas as power, Taiga was one of the premier few, his scent so strong others followed his movements simply to gain a whiff of his unique blend of Mandarin and musk, of rose petals and Patchouli leaves. Of course, that also meant he could smell others’ aromas clearly and identify their emotions through a mere change of scent. 

Which was why Daiki reeked. And why Tatsuya’s monster was rancid. And why Midorima was just a sterile mess of scents. 

But it also made Tetsuya with no noticeable scent…alluring. 

The son of an aromachologist, Taiga saw foreign lands, majestic kingdoms, and humble villages. His father traveled to those who requested his presence, and his expert knowledge made him a healer, an advisor, and a merchant. He bartered for governments. He cured the ill. He even stopped a war once, when there was a miscommunication between the Absolute and the Essential. They both sought dominance with their overwhelming stenches, and Taiga spent many a night cursing (and puking on) both parties for releasing their most putrid mixes in order to curse the other. 

So when the Emperor of Teikou requested Taiga’s father to his court, Taiga himself was overwhelmed by the small-statured brother of the boy ruler, the younger twin of barely eighteen. Tetsuya’s eyes was clear but guarded, his features pale but kind. He was the exact opposite of his stern but fair brother, who ruled equally through fear and admiration. Instead, Tetsuya blended into the background with his white and sky blue tunic, standing off to his brother’s side during every balancing ritual Taiga’s father performed. 

Taiga found himself at Tetsuya’s side many times, a hand upon the shorter boy’s shoulder. “Your brother is half-Absolute and half-Essential. The mood swings alone must be a battle to endure.”

“Aniki has dealt with them his whole life without help, but they have stabilized since your father began his daily rituals. We are grateful you have come.”

Taiga’s hand fell from Tetsuya’s shoulder to his hand, entwining their fingers. “You mean, you are grateful my father has come.”

“No,” Tetsuya corrected without any other explanation. 

As the days passed, Taiga found himself a fixture in the Emperor’s court. The request for his father’s presence was extended indefinitely as the Emperor gained strength from his balanced aroma, and Taiga, by extension, was welcomed at dinners, royal functions, and even in Tetsuya’s chambers. He loved pressing his face against Tetsuya’s warm skin and taking a deep breath, smelling nothing but clean skin and human musk. There was no aroma of foreign flowers or scent of strong spices, and Taiga didn’t need any to know when Tetsuya was happy or troubled. Despite what some of the court said about the emperor’s brother, Tetsuya was expressive, his emotions a puzzle only a select few could decipher. And Taiga took great pride in working them out. 

“Tell me of your travels, of your journeys,” Tetsuya demanded from time to time, a look of utter wonderment upon his gentle face. He laid his head upon Taiga’s strong shoulder. “Tell me of the lands you’ve visited.”

“Haven’t you ever traveled for royal business?”

“Our parents died when Aniki and I were young, and Aniki has always been protective.” Was Tetsuya pouting? He was too adorable, and Taiga wanted to kiss the expression from his face. “I’ve been to the nearby villages and even the cities within our realm, but I have never been allowed out of Teikou.”

So Taiga told him of the mountains of Akita, of the plains of Shutoku, of the seas at Kaijo and of the forests of Seirin. He told Tetsuya of the majestic birds and the wandering beasts. He told Tetsuya of the scents—all the horrible stenches he experienced—until he found Tetsuya’s lack thereof. 

But as the nights lengthened and the tales grew long, instead of holding Tetsuya’s hand at the rituals, he held his waist, and Taiga buried his face in Tetsuya’s soft neck and inhaled. 

Vanilla. With a hint of sheer freesia and creamy tonka bean. 

So close to the balancing rituals, Tetsuya also must have benefited from the same methods Taiga’s father used to suppress Seijuro’s mood swings. They brought out Tetsuya’s latent scent, the one that had been suppressed by his own unique blend of Absolute and Essential genes, and though his scent wasn’t as strong as others, it was still there, sweet and pleasurable to Taiga’s nose like no other scent had ever been, igniting all his senses until he had to fight his tongue from finding Tetsuya’s milky skin in the middle of a ritual. 

“You smelled it, too,” his father asked him sometime later before leaning forward to take an embarrassing sniff. “Hm. It still lingers upon you. I’m not surprised. That happens when an Essential finds a partner.”

Taiga wanted to all but die, but his curiosity kept him alive. “Partner?”

“Essentials are different from Absolutes,” his father explained as he took a seat at his desk. “That’s why Seijuro is having such difficulty with his aroma, but Tetsuya’s aroma is different. He takes after his mother, who was an Essential, more than his father, who was an Absolute. Essentials’ aromas only release after they have found the one they love and only in his or her presence. It’s a way of marking their territory, if you will.”

Taiga’s heart fluttered a frantic staccato, but it all but slowed when his father spoke again. “I am happy for you, Taiga, but at the same time, I worry. Not all of Teikou believe an Absolute should be in power. If they find out that Tetsuya is more Essential than his brother, others will try to place him on the throne.”

“But—But Tetsuya would never do that to His Imperial Majesty!”

“It wouldn’t be His Highness’s doing.”

But that meant only one thing. Though Taiga loved his father and would miss him greatly, Teikou and Seijuro needed him, now as the official aromachologist, as Seijuro had deemed two moons before. But Taiga, his father’s apprentice and would-be heir, wasn’t needed at the Court of Teikou, so as he laid in Tetsuya’s bed once more, his body curled about his lover’s protectively, possessively, he pressed a gentle kiss to Tetsuya’s shoulder, setting Tetsuya’s gentle warmth and alluring scent to heart, before dressing and taking off toward the stables. 

Without him there, Tetsuya wouldn’t have any reason to release his scent, and it would be forever trapped in his body, safe from the rebels and would-be aggressors, a vanilla secret Tetsuya had shared with only Taiga and those closest to him.

For some reason, that alone would be enough to keep Taiga away, knowing the truth that Tetsuya allowed him to breathe. Tetsuya loved him, and for that, Taiga would do anything to keep the prince safe. 

“Show me, Taiga-kun.”

Taiga shrieked—all manly from surprise and not fear, of course—before he whirled to see Tetsuya standing behind him in dark crimson and black, the colors of Seirin, of Taiga’s own cloaks and homeland.

“Show me the lands, the beasts, and the birds. I want to see the plains and mountains, and experience all the horrible scents you have.” He reached forward, folding his fingers with Taiga's. “Show me everything, Taiga-kun. Take me with you.”

Taiga did. 

The End


End file.
